The car that most Americans know as the Chevy Caprice PPV (Police Patrol Vehicle) owes as much to the Australian designed and built Holden Caprice luxury sedan reviewed here as the latter owes to business decisions Ford Australia made a couple of decades ago.
In the early 1970s, Holden – GM’s Australian subsidiary – introduced two new models to compete with local rival Ford. The first was the Statesman, a vehicle with no Holden badging whatsoever, designed as a direct competitor to Ford’s Australian-built Fairlane and as a replacement for the unloved Brougham sedan.
A few years later came the Statesman Caprice, an even more luxurious model, introduced to compete with Ford’s freshly minted LTD.
Thus the Caprice name was born. Over the years the Caprice has grown in interior room, price and standard equipment but retains the same basic idea of what Aussie luxury should be. We took the V8 engined V Series II model out for a week long road test and review.
Overview
The first thing you'll notice about the Caprice is the lengths Holden has gone to in order to differentiate it from the bread-and-butter Commodore (sold in the States as the Pontiac G8). Almost everything from the head- and taillights, front and rear bumpers and the bodywork aft of the B-pillar have been changed.
The result is a car that is attractive in profile and which carries a strong and masculine air from most angles. In terms of size, the Caprice is 5,161 mm (203 in) from end to end with a wheelbase of 3,010 mm (118.5 in). It’s also 1,899 mm (75 in) wide and 1,475 mm (58 in) tall. It's a full-sized sedan and certainly feels like it initially.
Inside Scoop
As with the Commodore, four adults can be seated comfortably in the Caprice. There are a pair of headrest-mounted, DVD-compatible LCD screens for the rear seat passenger and a tilt-and-slide electric sunroof for the driver and front passenger.
I found however that the sunroof cuts into the front headroom, leading to an uncomfortable driving position for taller people such as myself (I’m 181 cm / 5 ft 11 in).
Holden's much hyped iQ system makes an appearance, though its placement at elbow-level in the centre console makes it uncomfortable to use at time. Otherwise, the Caprice's cabin is a nice place to be, with dual zone climate control, bolstered leather seats and touches of metallic trim to brighten up the otherwise Commodore-standard interior.
On The Road
Let’s talk about performance. The Caprice V's 6.0-liter V8 packs 260 kW (349-horses) of power at 5,600 rpm and 517 Nm (381 ft lb) of peak torque at 4,400 rpm.
Mated to a six-speed automatic transmission (there is no manual option), the Caprice V returns a quoted 12.3 lt/100 km or 19.1 mpg US (I recorded an average of 12.6 lt/100 km or 18.7 mpg US). It’s a smooth and flexible engine that’s perfectly suited for highway cruising.
One complaint is interior NVH (Noise, Vibration, and Harshness), which I think could have been suppressed a little better in a car costing upwards of AU$69,990 (US$71,579 / €56,268). Still, the Caprice V is about as comfortable and compliant as one could have hoped for. Stopping power is more than adequate, provided by ventilated discs all round.
The Final Word
The Holden Caprice V is a very good car, with a long and proud history backing it up. Unfortunately, it lags in comparison with its German and Japanese rivals in terms of interior quality, refinement and fuel efficiency.
It also doesn't compare favourably with its much cheaper (and almost identically equipped) younger sibling: the Calais V, a car that is not only smaller (and therefore would have better handling and fuel consumption) but significantly cheaper.
Though preferred by politicians both in Australia and in New Zealand and a favourite choice for wedding limos, it's hard to rationalise the Caprice V as a private buyer purchase. More equipment and differentiation from the Calais V would no doubt help in this endeavor.
By Tristan Hankins
12 Comments:
GM take note; this should be the next Impala.
seems like it lacks HP for a V8 to me when I think of hyundai genesis coupe's V6 engine with 348 hp.
When when a car has an LS block, it's not the hp that matters, it's the torque.
This 6.0 has 381 ftlb @ 4400rpm. That torque comes on sooner and stronger than the Genesis's 295 ftlb @ 5300rpm.
This car looks very boring outside and inside. Just look like an old Malibu...
Reminds me of a modern version of the Crown Vic.
It's not that much imo to brag about having a extra 89 pounds of torque when the HP are both the same and the toque is only 89 more pounds when it is taking twice the size of a engine from 3;8 liters to 6.0 liters. I am thinking GM could do a lot better with the 6.0 LS V 8 Block if Hyundai could do so much with just a 3.8 V 6 with no roots in racing.
Correction*, I meant an Impala, not a malibu
This car could have easily been launched 10 yeas ago and still wouldn't have made any impact whatsoever. It's offensively lazy in all of it's
features and design, both inside and out. And I LOVE the GM's idea of downsizing - from 6.2 to 6.0 and the same power as a naturally aspirated 3.8 Hyundai V6, albeit with 90 lb/ft more torque. Also, instead of a 7-8 spd. DC transmission they put a 6 speed automatic form the late 90's to waste even more performance and fuel. It's pathetic in every single conceivable way known to mankind and a middle finger salute to any intelligent human being. Sorry GM, you really screwed it up this time!
New Zealand politicians now ride around in 7 series BMWs.
To expand further on the matter, consider the valvetrain. The LS's valve train doesn't allow for higher rpms and thus it's HP figures suffer on paper. This is remedied with displacement, so that while the horsepower figures of the Genesis and the Caprice are similar, it's WHEN that horsepower is used that matter.
For the Genesis, at it's peak torque rating, it is only making 247 hp.
(295*4400)/5252 = 247.14hp
For the Caprice, at it's peak torque rating, it is only making 319 hp.
(381*4400)/5252 = 319.19hp
Mind you, these peaks happen at different engine speeds and I'm not considering this as a race in which dead weight of the car's need to be factored.
But for the LS, it can compenstates for its "extra litres" by being physically compact, lighter, and available in a million flavours of torque and horsepower.
It reminds me of a proud time when American fullsize sedans and coupes were actually "Fullsize Length" I will agree styling needs modernizing, as long as they keep the grill above the bumper and attached to the hood. The IQ screen needs to be moved to the top, maybe integrate the HVAC controls with it. As far as the engine comments, fact is the LS engine is (OHV) that's fine for the Vett and muscle cars, but a luxury vehicle needs modern refinement. A bare minimum add the Lacrosse's E-assist and a 8 or better yet keep up with Hyundai 10 speed auto. However in the end, Holden and Cadillac must get together and design a new DOHC Direct Injected V8, possibly a turbo! 349Hp and 6 liters is just wrong these days. Last I read GM is currently working on the next generation of this car for 2015 hopefully with a civilian Chevrolet Caprice! "I prefer fullsize cars with modern technology and features, I do not consider over sized SUV's a alternative! Example Ford should have redesigned the Town Car and offed the Navigator!
I speak for all cars!
kinda boring...didn't seem to work hard enough on the styling.
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